-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- One person was killed and dozens injured after unrest broke out overnight at an Australian detention center for asylum seekers on a remote island in Papua New Guinea , authorities said Tuesday .

Detainees breached fences surrounding the facility on Manus Island , which lies several hundred kilometers northeast of mainland Papua New Guinea , the Australian government said .

`` This was a very dangerous situation where people decided to protest in a very violent way and to take themselves outside the center and place themselves at great risk , '' said Australian Immigration Minister Scott Morrison .

Order has now been restored at the facility on Manus , a sparsely populated jungle island , he said .

Australia operates controversial offshore centers for processing asylum seekers on Manus and the tiny Pacific island of Nauru .

Australian authorities say the far-flung detention centers are a way of deterring people from attempting the perilous sea journey to Australia , where immigration is a delicate political issue .

But conditions at the facilities have been criticized by human rights advocates , who have reported cases of self-harm , hunger strikes and suicide attempts .

Riots and protests have flared in the past among people held in the centers on Manus and Nauru , many of whom end up there after traveling from South Asia and the Middle East in efforts to reach Australia .

Rioting asylum seekers on Nauru burned down their shelters at the processing facility last year .

The unrest on Manus overnight followed `` low-level demonstrations '' at the center on the island , Morrison said .

`` The vast majority of transferees in that facility did not participate in that protest last night , that disturbance , '' he said . `` They were removed for their safety to the oval just down the road , and nonessential staff who were running the center were also evacuated prior to things escalating last night . ''

Most of those hurt in the riots have been treated locally , but two severely injured people are being transferred to Australia , Morrison said . One of the two suffered a gunshot wound to the buttock , he said .

A total of 77 people received medical treatment , and 13 of them had serious injuries , authorities said .

The person who was killed suffered a head injury outside the center and died on the way to a hospital , he said .

`` The news of a death is a great tragedy , '' Morrison said , expressing his sympathies to the deceased 's family and friends .

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`` This was a very dangerous situation , '' an Australian official says

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People in the Australian detention center on Manus Island breached its fences

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Human rights groups have criticized the offshore facilities for processing asylum seekers

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Australian officials say they deter people from attempting the dangerous journey